Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Where the available gaming options include a number of competing machines and the expectation of winning at each machine is roughly the same (or believed to be the same), players are likely to be attracted to the most entertaining and exciting machines. Shrewd operators strive to employ the most entertaining and exciting machines, features, and enhancements available because such machines attract frequent and continuous play, increasing profitability to the operator.
One concept that has been employed to enhance player entertainment and achieve player loyalty is the use of progressive games. In the gaming industry, a “progressive” game involves collecting coin-in data from participating gaming device(s) (e.g., slot machines), contributing a percentage of that coin-in data to a progressive jackpot amount, and awarding that jackpot amount to a player upon the occurrence of a certain jackpot-won event. A jackpot-won event typically occurs when a “progressive winning position” is achieved at a participating gaming device. If the gaming device is a slot machine, a progressive winning position may, for example, correspond to alignment of progressive jackpot reel symbols along a certain payline. The initial progressive jackpot may be a predetermined minimum amount. That jackpot amount, however, progressively increases as players continue to play on participating gaming machines without winning the jackpot. Further, when several gaming machines are linked together such that several players at several gaming machines compete for the same jackpot, the jackpot progressively increases at a much faster rate, which leads to further player excitement. Typically, once the progressive jackpot is awarded, the jackpot amount is reset to the predetermined minimum amount.
Another concept that has been successfully employed to enhance the entertainment value of a game is that of a “secondary” or “bonus” game which may be played in conjunction with a “basic” game. The bonus game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a selected event or outcome of the basic game, may comprise any type of game, either similar to or completely different from the basic game. Such a bonus game produces a significantly higher level of player excitement than the basic game because it creates a greater expectation of winning than the basic game.
One type of bonus game that is commonly employed is a playing-board bonus game where elements of a well-recognized board game, such as Monopoly™, are incorporated into the bonus game. These games may have reel symbols that resemble the characters, tokens, game pieces, and so forth of the board game. Similarly, the cabinet, signage, and/or the graphics design of the gaming machine may be made to resemble the board layout of the board game. Furthermore, the rules that control certain aspects of game play may, in some cases, be modeled after the rules of the board game. It may be desirable to increase the excitement and entertainment value of these board game-themed wagering games in order to attract more players.
Another way to increase the entertainment value of a game is to enhance the display of the gaming machines. For gaming machines with video displays, improvements in video technology have enabled the display of richer and more colorful graphics. For gaming machines with mechanical displays, however, the enhancements early on were less technologically advanced. For example, some mechanical reel symbols were colored by backlighting the mechanical symbols with colored lighting elements. Sometimes the reel itself might contain electroluminescent elements that defined one or more reel symbols. Recent advances in transmissive display technology have made it possible to more easily modify the appearance of a mechanical display. The transmissive display is essentially a transparent video display that is superimposed over the mechanical display. The transmissive display can then be operated to display selected video images superimposed over the mechanical display.
Many gaming machines include a variety of visual attractions and displays, such as models, signs, and other forms of information. These items typically include fixed permanently-printed glass, video displays, fixed artwork, models, and marquees. In some gaming regions, industry regulations may require each gaming terminal to include top-box mounted lighting and signage that indicate, for example, the class of machine, when the machine is of out of funds, when the machine is malfunctioning, etc. New developments in visual attractions and displays, including those tied directly to play of the basic and bonus games, can further enhance player appeal and thus increase game play and player loyalty.